This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority from the prior Japanese Patent Application No. 11-254475, filed Sep. 8, 1999, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
The present invention relates to an image formation apparatus having at least copy and printer functions.
The recent advance of digital technology and LAN environments have allowed copying machines to be frequently used as image handling apparatuses which, in addition to a copy function, provide a scanner function and a printer function (i.e., a function of printing characters corresponding to input character code data).
Unlike the copy function in which the user has to directly operate the copying machine, in the printer function, data to be printed are transferred over a LAN or the like to the copying machine and then printed. For this reason, a job spooling facility which is not required with conventional copying machines, i.e., a facility for temporarily saving data to be printed, has become essential.
Thus, when a printer job has been spooled, the user has to wait at the side of the copying machine until the spooled printer job is completed, which may degrade the operability of the copy function.
A conventional interrupt facility adapted to prevent such a situation can force the printer job to be suspended for printing. For example, if an interruption is caused when the 25-th page of 50 pages of printer job is being printed, then copying will be made possible at the termination of printing of the 25-th page.
However, when a printer job is carried out using a sorter facility, a limitation is encountered in specifying receiving (exit) trays of the sorter at copy time. That is, when sheets of paper printed by the printer job have been sorted into some trays of the sorter, sheets copied by copying operation have to be delivered to unused trays in order to prevent the copies from being delivered to the same trays as the printed sheets have been delivered. Therefore, a problem arises in that it is impossible to perform the copying function using the sorter facility.
On the other hand, the user who has directed the machine to perform a printer job will also suffer inconvenience because the printer job in execution may be suspended for a long time by an interruption caused by another user.
A first object of the present invention is to provide an image formation apparatus having built-in copying and printing functions which permits the waiting time until copying becomes enabled to be reduced even if, when a user desires to use the copying function, the printer is in operation and multiple printer jobs have been spooled.
When a copy reservation function which allows copying to be performed with certainty after the execution of the current printer job is built in the apparatus to reduce the waiting time for copying, a problem may arise in the case where the amount of printing by the current printer job in execution is large. That is, in the event that the user makes a copy reservation on the apparatus, then leaves the apparatus and returns to the apparatus with a delay, a situation occurs where the apparatus is not in operation though print data has been spooled, reducing the printing efficiency. It is therefore a second object of the present invention to provide an image formation apparatus which prevents the copy reservation function from stopping a printer job longer than is necessary.
If, in order to prevent the printer job from being stopped longer than is necessary, an autoclear function is put into operation to automatically cancel the copy reservation, there arises the possibility that, if the user who has made a copy reservation leaves the apparatus and returns to the apparatus with some delay, the copy reservation may have been canceled against his or her will, reducing the operability of the copying function. It is therefore a third object of the present invention to provide an image formation apparatus which prevents a copy reservation from being canceled against user""s will.
If a desired size of paper is not set in the apparatus when it is placed in the copy enabled state, there arises the possibility that the apparatus may have been used by a printer job when desired paper is replenished, in which case the user is not able to copy. It is therefore a fourth object of the present invention to provide an image formation apparatus which has no such a drawback.
In addition, a fifth object of the present invention is to provide an image formation apparatus which permits efficient control of power consumption when the copy reservation function is implemented.
The present invention includes a copy reservation function using an interrupt approach which places the copying machine in the copy enabled state after the completion of a printer job in execution rather than interrupting the printer job immediately when a request for copying occurs.
According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image formation apparatus comprising: image formation means for forming an image corresponding to input image data; printer job control means having means for receiving a printer job from external equipment, means for holding a plurality of received printer jobs, means for providing first image data corresponding to a printer job and means for printing an image corresponding to the first image data using the image formation means; original reading means for optically reading the image of an original to provide second image data; user interface means for accepting from a user a copy job start input and a copy reservation input for, when the image formation means is being used by the printer control means, making a reservation for the use of a copying function provided by the image formation means and the original reading means after the completion of a printer job in execution; copy job management means including means responsive to the copy job input to the user interface means for copying the original image using the original reading means and the image formation means, and copy reservation means responsive to the copy reservation input to the user interface means for reserving the use of the copying function after the completion of the printer job in execution.
The copy reservation facility of the present invention allows the user to copy using the image formation apparatus after the completion of the current printer job in execution even if another printer job has been spooled. Thus, the first object of the invention is achieved.
The copy job management means includes means for inhibiting the execution of a printer job, even if it has occurred, for a first predetermined period of time since the image formation means was made available owing to a copy reservation through the copy reservation means or for a second predetermined period of time since the user interface means accepted the key inputs at least once even if that printer job has occurred within the first predetermined period of time.
That is, the execution of a printer job is rendered possible when the first predetermined period of time elapses since the image formation means was made available or when the second predetermined period of time elapses since the user made at least one copy within the first period of time. The copy reservation facility therefore permits a printer job to be prevented from being stopped longer than is necessary. In addition, the copy reservation facility permits a copy reservation from being canceled even if the user returns to the copying machine with some delay because a printer job cannot be put into execution for some time since the copying function was made available. Thus, the second and third objects of the present invention are achieved.
The copy job management means includes printer job inhibit means responsive to an input to the user interface means when the apparatus has been placed in the copy executable state for inhibiting the execution of a printer job by the printer job control means, and the user interface means includes printer job inhibit input means for inhibiting the execution of a printer job.
The user is allowed to inhibit the execution of a print job by the printer job control means through the printer job inhibit input means provided in the user interface means. Thus, the fourth object of the present invention is achieved.
The copy job management means includes power saving means for reducing power consumption of the apparatus by placing the apparatus in the preheated state or power-off state when an additional time elapses after a lapse of the second predetermined period of time.
That is, the present apparatus is placed in the preheated state or power-off state when a time interval of the second period of time plus the additional time elapses since the image formation apparatus was made available owing to a copy reservation and the user operated a key. In other words, the apparatus is not placed in the preheated state unless the user performs at least one key operation since the apparatus was made available owing to a copy reservation. Therefore, even if the user who has made a copy reservation returns to the copying machine with a delay and the reservation have thus been canceled, the user does not have to wait for the apparatus to return from the preheated state. Moreover, it becomes possible to control power consumption in an efficient manner. Thus, the fifth object of the present invention is achieved.
Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and obtained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out hereinafter.